The Bookshelf

“A bruised reed He will not break and a dimlyburning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfullybring forth justice.”(Isaiah 42:3 KJV)

Have you ever had to assemble one of those furniture pieces that come in many parts? If you are like
the typical man, you will probably try to assemble it without reading the instructions. A couple years ago, I was given two bookshelves as a gift. I assembled the first one, which took me all day to assemble because I failed to follow the instructions. I decided to put the second bookshelf in the garage to assemble at a later
date.

Well, that later date became three years later. To all the wives out there, I just want you to know that
eventually we will get it done. As I opened the box I noticed that one of the main supports for the bookshelf was cracked but I could not return the bookshelf because it was purchased over three years ago. I decided to assemble it anyway and if it broke, it broke. As I began to assemble the bookshelf, I noticed that the crack in the frame did not weaken the bookshelf. As I connected the parts of the shelf together the cracked frame became stronger and the more parts I joined together the stronger the entire shelf became. Assembling this bookshelf reminded me of how God deals with us. He would never cast us aside because of flaws in our lives.

God can take a person whose life has been cracked and fit them into a great work so that no one
would ever notice the crack. Take David for example. He had many cracks and flaws in his life. Called to lead God’s chosen nation and known for his skills as a great warrior, David was also a murderer and an adulterer. Nonetheless, God called David a man after His heart. Why? Because David was a worshiper, he had such love and passion for God that he stayed connected to God regardless of what was going on in his life.

Like David, we must stay connected to God and to the body of Christ the church. Paul said that we are
all members of His body, fitting together well, each of us having a purpose. The same way the individual parts of the bookshelf—though some were cracked and damaged—were strengthened when they were joined together, so it is with us, the church. Jesus has placed us in His body, and the moment we move away from our connection, our weaknesses are exposed. When we are exposed the cracks in our lives weaken us, and we are unable to fulfill our purpose. The purpose of the bookshelf is to hold books, but the only way it can hold books is if it is assembled and connected. We as believers must stay connected and fitted together with Jesus. Connection makes us stronger:

“And if one can overpower him who is alone, two canresist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly tornapart.” (Eccl. 4:12)

“From whom the whole body, being fitted and heldtogether by what every joint supplies, according tothe proper working of each individual part, causesthe growth of the body for the building up of itself inlove.” (Eph. 4:16)

Be Blessed,

Bishop Jemmott

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